It appeared Jupiter might be a bit boring tonight. I was wrong. Seeing and transparency were descent, but it did give me a chance to really reach down and try to see more color.

Jupiter's hues were not bombastic, like last night, but they were there. Also, the real lack of large swaths of color for comparison made the chore more difficult. That's okay, though, it just meant trying harder. So, here's my best attempt at it.

The SEB is particularly interesting. It did seem lined on both edges by "not brown" hues. The southern edge appeared to be pretty dark, maybe dark gray. It seemed to stretch the length of the belt in varying shades. Across the northern edge, well, it was a bit lighter. In fact, maybe blue-gray. Interestingly, I got some flashes of festoon blue, too. Weird.

Anyway, one thing stunned me were some tiny protrusions popping north into the south EZ. They very faintly hinted blue. Truthfully, not sure they are really there or how many, but I am reasonably confident I saw about three.

Oh, two white ovals tonight. The first one, closest to the meridian is A6, I believe, the one trailing would be A7. Not easy, but they did pop a few times. Also, EWS A/B was pretty apparent along the northern NEB near the trailing limb.

Speaking of the NEB, the rifts were pretty nice. ONe seemed to have a bright knot in it (seen at 240x.) A few gray clouds and some darker brown albedo. The NEB and the SEB appeared basically the same general brownish hue. The NEB was less saturated, weaker tones generally. At times, the NEB has an eerie ruddy glow, other times not. I suspect it's either transparency on different nights or actual changes in hue in different parts of the belt.

The EB was quite prominent, broken, and appeared molted. The festoons were only slightly dark blue-ish. There was some weaker blue hues riding over top of each. No real wisps seen. But, one massivly bright white feature was nestled against the festoon on the meridian and even cut north into the NEB.

The EZ north was generally more Tawney than the EZ south. Same with the STrZ, it was light gray while the STZ was pretty much white. At least a streak of white running along the SSTB. The STB was seen pretty much across the disc with the trailing portion more prominent.

Both northern and southern regions showed some darker and lighter albedo. No real belt seen in the north. I did observe Jupiter for another hour trying to confirm the colors shown.

Many details were pretty easy, however a lot of features seen popped occasionally and took a good long time to tease out. That's part of the challenge, part of the fun, it's the reward. Nope, not boring at all. Plenty to see tonight and a great exercise in trying to really see more color.

With an observing season season cut short by travel, I have been making the most of this amazing apparition. Jupiter has been displaying so much with the rifts and activity in the EZ. I feel driven to take full advantage of every clear and steady night. After Feb, these will all be memories until next year as the rains set it.

This pursuit of observing color and recording the faintest detail results in a draft sketch with so may pencil markings. I really believe modifying my CO to less than 30% has made a big difference. Gaining confidence in those fleeting details is a major step, too, and that can be garnered from frequent observing.

A couple years ago Pete showed up in my inbox out of the blue. He began challenging me on difficult observations such as Plato and the Cat's Paw. He really gave me the challenge to really observe those difficult things. Couple that drive with great seeing and there really is so much to see. I am grateful for his pushing me to observe at the extremes beyond Raleigh and Dawes. It has led to wonderful things, such as Io and a truly outstanding Jupiter - which has my complete, undivided attention.

Your too kind Norme - especially since you've got me beat on the Apollo 11 area crater. Sorry to hear about the rainy season... It sounds depressing!! Probably in Feb Ill send off my reflectors mirrors for recoating - they are almost old enough to vote! The 6" sct can fill the void on late night Saturn obs. It is coming around again... Tho rising at a nutty hour still.

Yea, Pete, thinking about dedicating the remainder of the observing season to Saturn. I think it's high enough in January even at crazy early in the morning. In Feb, I am off to the US to visit family and *BLEEP* away the remainder of a great observing season. When it rains, there is always pool and beer and clubs. Dry season is, well, a "dry" season. I'd rather be observing Jupiter than sleeping one off. It's more rewarding than all other sins combined. For now...

Frank, I will tell you and everyone straight up. Sometimes, sometimes hell - often, I cannot believe how well Jupiter is revealing herself.

1. Great laminar seeing, good transparency.
2. Better seeing allows "perfect" collimation (below) and precise focus.
3. Tropical climes do not present cooling issues, even for a Mak.
4. Modified CO reduced to 28%. (Risky move that paid off in spades.)
5. Choosing the best magnification for the job and good eyepieces.
6. Clean optics and pretty well corrected for SA.
7. Jupiter is more active this fly by, so there is simply more to see.
8. An intense drive to observe every tiny hint of detail she let's slip. Confidence in those tiny hints of fleeting detail helps immensely.
9. Intense observing schedule, almost nightly, adds experience.
10. Laying off the beer, sacrificing it for opportunities to observe Jupiter.

Put those conditions together night after night and you can really squeeze Jupiter for all she's worth even in a 6" scope. Reducing induced aberrations (de-focus, seeing, obstruction, cooling, etc.) simply allow the scope to do what it's supposed to. The results are amazing. (No meaning to lecture those of us who know this stuff, just emphasizing how all those factors can really come together nicely.)

Thank you, I do seem to be in a real sweet spot and am fully grateful for all those things coming together at once. There are often nights one cannot ignore the Divine.

Matching aperture to your conditions (even accidentally, in my case) seems to be the magic formula. Seeing is weird, here, but it seems a 6" is right in the sweet spot. Jupiter does blur a bit and jump around completely intact from time to time. So, I suspect there are moments of larger scale seeing issues, but not really impacting smaller apertures.

Have you ever seen a steady Poisson spot and the first inner ring display color? Beautiful.

Norme, what a treat to see this. You have so many layers of information in the drawing it's simply dizzying. I'm going nuts here in CT. It's been all clouds and rain for about a week. Tonight the sky showed itself but the stars are quivering as if viewed through rippling plastic wrap. I didn't bother bringing the 72mm refractor to work tonight because of the seeing. But after looking at the detail you and Ed have captured in the NEB I can't help but lust after a view for myself.

Jason, the standard rule of thumb is twinkling stars mean bad seeing. I suppose that's true. However, the stars here twinkle quite a bit to the naked eye. At first it always looks like poor seeing. But, one look in the eyepiece shows something different. It's really weird. There is just something about the seeing here, a 6" is not really affected. I still do not understand it, really.

I am also thrilled with your choice of diagonal size. Having read more, it seems you have nailed it (24%, right?) According to Suiter, in that zone between 20 and 25%, the views start to become indistinguishable from an unobstructed aperture. That's exciting.

Bottom line, you should have an optimum scope. I am excited for you. Now, if we could do something about the jet stream for you and Pete.

A superb sketch and report. I especially like your rendering of the EQZ and how these light areas dive down into the NEB. The light oval on the NEBn and the little ovals in the SSTB are icing on the cake. The subtle shadings throughout the create a realism of the view.